What spark plugs with 234k look like! (Photos)

Really?? Multiple times I have seen AC delco plugs with 75,000 miles or more that still look new. They are actually still within the gap spec most the time. Are you talking about vehicles with major mods?

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I agree with Pikey mine were factory with 197,000 miles on them when I removed them and they were close to factory gaps. Of course my Tahoe was one of the first GMs to use stock platinum plugs rated for 100,000 miles before they needed to be checked or changed. One broke when removing but that was because I didn't use enough penetrating oil. Others came out with out a problem at the shop that I then brought the truck too so they could remove the broken plug.

My wife's Saturn Vue has 95k on it. The only things that have been done to it are oil changes when she tells me it has been 5k miles, flushed tranny,front pads (hurry up and stop driver) and put new tires on it. I know I need to spend some money on it but it seems to run ok.

Believe it or not, it's true. Other than oil changes every 3-5k, brakes at 160k, and now spark plugs at 234k, I have done NO work to this car. Oh, and I changed the tires once... That's it. It has the 2.2L Ecotec motor, which is also found in several other GM and Pontiac vehicles. The block and head are aluminum. I do need some front suspension parts, but considering the age, it's been a spectacular car reliability-wise. Most of my miles are highway miles with some traffic jams, so it gets a lot of cruising time. I don't drive it hard, tow only occasionally, and generally feed it Exxon fuel.

I did change the "plug wires" if you want to call them that when I did the plugs. It's coil-on-plug, so the wires looked just like 4 inch extensions and nothing more. Next I may run a bottle of injector cleaner through since I've never done that yet. The suspension definitely needs some love, but with struts being $133 each, that's going to have to wait a while longer.

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I have not replaced plugs on any or my cars since my 1989 Isuzu pickup. Today's platinum tipped plugs are good for at least 100K miles, and I rarely keep a vehicle over 100K (I get sick of looking at it).

You bought that Ion new and have only replaced the tires once? No way you get 100K+ out of a set of tires.

I have officially run 1 full tank of fuel through it since changing the plugs. I got 32MPG this go-round. That's right in the middle of my average range of fuel mileage, so it looks like it didn't hurt it, but it didn't help it either. The engine definitely seems to run and idle better than before I changed the plugs. I'm not having the slumping when coming from medium RPMs to idle like I used to have where the engine would shake as it ran below the idle speed.

This weekend I'm going to pick up a can of Seafoam to dump in the tank to try to clean up the injectors and carbon. I'm not expecting any real performance improvements, but anything that will help me get more life out of the car. I'm also going to bite the bullet and change out the front struts this weekend. I'm tired of all the suspension noise and getting beat up from the road.

As far as I know based on my research, I am lucky in that this engine has a chain, which are typically more resilient and can go more miles. So, I have not replaced the timing chain yet. Also from my research, this is not an interference motor, which gives me peace of mind.

I'm I am wrong in these assumptions, PLEASE let me know so I don't have a ticking timebomb on my hands!

That's insane that you didn't get misfires before. Only thing I can figure is that you had a strong electrical current. Hopefully, you changed out your plug wires, too. Those will degrade with time as well.